Chasing Their Horizon
by axel100
Summary: She's the girl his mom always warned him about.  His mom also cautioned him to be careful about what he wished for.  Since when did Freddie stop listening to his mom?    Sadly, my plans to steal the rights to iCarly from Dan Schneider have been foiled!
1. Chapter 1

_Chapte 1 Damage Control_

(FPOV)

She's not like other girls.

I've been saying that about Sam for over six years, but lately that's come to mean so much more than what it used to.

In the years since I first met Sam she's been my tormentor, my burden, and now a close friend.

She's savvy, witty, tough as nails, while at the same time loyal, devoted, and on a rare occasion even vulnerable. Sam's true to herself and doesn't let anyone push her around.

You don't have to tell me. I've got it bad. I've noticed.

I've noticed a lot about Sam lately.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one. It's the start of our senior year, and Sam has no problem finding guys who are interested in her, leaving yours truly stuck in the infamous "friend zone."

Sure, I can want more, but I've learned the hard way. I've been through this before. Why do I always fall for the girl who is totally unobtainable? Well not this time. I'm not setting myself up again for heart break. The universe doesn't have to drop another taco truck on me. Message received. Sam has to love me for who I truly am if we are ever going to have a real chance together.

And while Sam may be my friend, her feelings about me have never been in doubt. To her I'm a dork, a nub. No amount of wishful thinking will ever change that. She deserves better than what I can offer her.

I'm Vanilla and she likes Rocky Road. I'm baloney and she craves steak. I'm a…, well you get the idea. The point is Sam Puckett would never go out with someone like me. But she definitely deserves better than the jerk she's with.

At the very least, I can keep her from being hurt. Friends do that for one another.

I feel my gut clench as I watch Sam being pinned against a locker by Justin, her latest boyfriend. He's everything I'm not: popular, good looking, athletic, funny, owner of a classic muscle car, and the currently the center of Sam Puckett's world. And yet he doesn't appreciate what he has.

I duck behind my open locker door, turning away from where Sam and what's-his-face are kissing. The bell has just rung and the hallways were filling with students heading off to class .

"I'll always love you, Sam," I mumbled under my breath, "Even if you never love me."

I risk one more look to see them still going at it. But as much as I want to curl up and die, I have to face reality. I'm a dork. He's a jock. I can do the math. I can only close my eyes and shake my head at the unfairness of it all. The only comfort I can take is that at least this loser won't be around much longer.

Sam finally comes up for air and flashes a huge grin at her boyfriend. I love that smile and the way it lights up her face. Nothing should be allowed to blemish it.

"I've kind of got it bad for you."

Not the most confident "I love you" ever spoken, but coming from Sam, it's a lot.

"Right back at you babe."

Babe! Oh we're talking about a real Casanova here, I noted derisively. Where did she find this guy?

In that moment I hated him for making her feel that way; for setting her up; for lying to her. It would be so easy to just to confront him right now in front of her, but no, Sam doesn't deserve that. She has to come first.

I watch as she stares longingly into his eyes. If only that could be me. "I love you too, Sam." I whisper.

I watched as he pulled her in for another kiss, and then turned the other way. Why was I torturing myself? I duck behind my open locker door just as Sam passes by. For a moment she stops and I wonder if she has noticed me. But she just turns to look at her boyfriend once more, grins, blushes, and then heads off to class.

Justin is turning to leave when I catch him. I'm an AV nerd so normally I wouldn't rate the time of day. But I'm also Sam's friend so he can't just ignore me."

"What do you want, Benson?" he sneers.

How about your head on a platter for starters? That sounded pretty cool in my head but a little too harsh to say out loud. I regarded his smirking face. I'm going to enjoy wiping that look off of it. "I just wanted to know if Rebecca Burkowitz was worth it."

Justin blanches at first but recovers. "What are you getting at dork?"

"I hear she's _**lots of fun**_." I gesture with air quotes to emphasize that last part. "But did you really think that no one would notice the two of you under the bleachers?"

The picture on my camera phone says it all. Justin and Becky intertwined with one another like a couple of snakes. You can just make out his hand up her skirt as he latches on to her face.

Justin lunges for my phone but I dodge back out of reach.

"Uh..Hello! I have copies. But I wouldn't even have to show this to Sam. I'm one of her best friends. You're just the flavor of the month. She'd believe me over you any day."

"So what now? You haven't shown this to Sam?" He's confused.

"Look, I don't want her to see this. You think you're the first guy to mess with Sam? Well, you're not. But I will make sure you don't hurt her. You have a week to break it off with Sam or she finds out about your extracurricular activities."

He hesitates. I can almost see the rusty wheels in his mind turning; wondering if he has any room to maneuver. He doesn't.

"Believe me," I insist. "You don't want Sam to find out. Remember Jonah? She wedgie bounced him into the soprano section of the school chorus. If she's feeling generous, Sam might actually let you keep your cojones after she rips them off but I wouldn't count on it."

It's like watching the air go out of a balloon. His shoulders slump in defeat.

"Look, you know how Sam can be. Sure, sometimes she's all _hug me and kiss me,_ but dude; mostly she's brutal and frozen. We only have fun when she wants to. She totally ripped on me in front of the guys the other day. Said I needed tweezers to…, well, you know. I have a rep to maintain. But I can't tell her this or she starts using me as her personal tackling dummy."

"Hey, I've been there. And thanks for taking some of the heat off me by the way. But if you want to date Sam Puckett, you have to deal with her baggage too."

"All I know is that I shouldn't have to put up with that in a girlfriend. She's mean and crazy and Becky is…"

"Yeah, I know, the whole school knows. Burkowitz is _**lots**_ of fun. And you're right, Sam can be difficult. She's not easy to be with. But still, I've managed to stay her friend for six years. You couldn't even last a month without stepping out. You're so pathetic. I just heard Sam say she loved you. Do you know how much of an admission that was for her? I should just let her tear you apart."

"No, she's a crazy psycho…"

I interrupt. "And she was _**your crazy psycho**_**!** Look in spite of all her rough edges, Sam Puckett is the most amazing girl that you could possibly ever date. She certainly doesn't deserve to have her heart ripped out by a loser like you!" OK I yelled that a bit too loudly. We're getting a little too much interest from passersby.

Justin suddenly finds the need to study the tile floor. I'm enjoying watching him squirm, but I really need to wrap this up.

"Do we understand each other?"

"Yeah" he begins. "But how am I supposed to break up with her? You said you didn't' want her to get hurt."

"That's easy enough. The next time she punches or trips you or whatever; let her know that you're getting sick of her treating you that way. Demand her respect. Sam will know what to do next. Just keep insisting that as her boyfriend you deserve to be treated better and Sam will fall out of love with you real quick. Heck, if she dumps you, it will be even better."

Justin brightens up at this way out. "OK. I'll start at lunch. She usually steals food off my tray."

"Yep. That's my Sam."

We may never be more than friends, but I'll always have her back.

**So did you love it, like it, or just want to tell me to keep my day job? Only way to let me know is leave a review. Come on, you know you want to! I'll even throw in a second chapter at some point in the near future. **

**Also, if you haven't already, you check out works of ****Tech-Man, KingxLeon21, JamesTheGreater, BaalRules,****BoxOfTrinkets myjumpingsocks, and the General herself, pigwiz. A special thanks to Miss Piggy for the gentle prodding needed to finally get me to post. You can put the pitch fork away now. Also thanks to KingXLeon for your critique and insight. **

**An additional shout out to the Citrus Queen herself, iCarlyAngst and her partner in crime, aussiemma. Read their lemony goodness and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 To Boldly Go?_

(FPOV)

Thought that was the end didn't you? So did I, but one week later, I'm minding my own business eating lunch in the cafeteria. Sam and Carly both have an earlier lunch period, so I'm not expecting the whirlwind of blond hair that tears through the throngs of students in line and plops down next to me. Sam Puckett has arrived… And she's pissed.

"I can't believe what a whiny bitch Justin turned out to be. All this week it's been nothing but _don't punch me_ or _keep away from my food_."

"So the two of you are…?"

"History!"

_Yes! Right on schedule! Truly the gods have smiled upon me!_

"That's too bad. I'm sure someone else will come along." I should at least try to sound like I'm sorry about this, right?

"Eh, Whatever. I've had enough with dating jocks for a while." Sam briefly blows away a stray curl that had fallen over her eye. She manages to look amazing while doing it.

Wait. What did she say? "Really Sam?"

"Yeah, I just wish I could find a guy who actually **got** me! I'm adorable right? " She cuts a quick glare in my direction. "Don't you dare say it Fredalina!"

"Hey, I happen to agree with you…sorta."

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm starved."

"Oh, that's surprising."

"Watch it dishrag! So what did you get for lunch today? Is that French Vanilla ice cream?"

Wait! I know I had an ice cream cup in my hand a second ago. And now she has it and… oh why bother! In the blink of an eye Sam's got it open and is digging in with gusto.

Glad to see she's enjoying it so much. "Wait, you _like_ Vanilla? Isn't that a little ordinary for you?"

"What are you talking about Benson? Vanilla tastes awesome! It may not have all the pizzazz of Death by Chocolate or the crunch of Rocky Road, but you can always depend on Vanilla to put you in a good mood. And Vanilla can be very surprising." Sam puts down the now empty cup and her eyes narrow as she regards me closely.

"Funny thing though. This morning, I was getting ready to give Gibby his weekly Texas wedgie when he mentioned something about a certain picture of Justin that he said he took for you."

"Um…Really? Did he happen to say what it was about?" Thanks for selling me out Gib. Oh this was going to end badly.

"No he just said you had some serious dirt on Justin before he ran off like a scared little piglet."

"Oh…" I'm suddenly at a loss for words but she still has plenty to say.

"I** know** Freddie. Justin filled me in before I threw him into the garbage dumpster out back."

"Sam, I was only trying…"She stops me as she holds up her hand.

"I get why you did it, Benson. It's actually kind of sweet. But momma's a big girl now. I can take a little bad news."

"But you shouldn't have to put up with crap like that!"

"Damn straight. That's why you're skipping with me next period. I need someone to distract Ms. Vasquez while I sneak a fetal pig from the biology lab."

"I'm almost afraid to ask but what are you going to do with that?"

"I'm putting it in Burkowitz's locker. She likes to suck face with pigs so I figure what's the big deal?"

"I can't talk you out of this can I?"

"Nope. But do you really want to Freddie? From what I've seen lately, you've been wanting to spend some quality time alone with me. Right?"

"Why do you say that?" I have no idea where this going.

"Freddy, you're not exactly Mr. Subtlety. I noticed the way you stared when I was with Justin. And spying on us over by the lockers? Then there's getting Gibby to follow Justin to get that picture. Dude, you just broke us up. I'd say you're pretty obvious."

"And you're not killing me because…?"

"Oh you're not off the hook by a long shot. I just need you right now. But we _**will**_ continue this discussion later. Maybe over dinner and a movie this Friday? You're paying of course."

"Are you asking me out?" I was incredulous. "I don't know. I mean …"

"Just go with me on this dipthong. Now think about what you're going to say to Ms. Vasquez. You're terrible at improvising."

"Sam this is a bad idea. I'm going to say the wrong thing. We're going to get caught. Lets not…"

"Oh WinaFred, it's so adorable when you think I'm actually giving you a choice."

And with that Sam grabbed hold of my hand and dragged me off toward who knows what kind of trouble. Well I did want to be more than just friends with her, and it looks like I might just get my wish. Somebody help me!

**A thousand apologies for taking so long with this update. You're all too patient!**

**Also, if you haven't already, you check out works of my fellow Cabal members ****Tech-Man, KingxLeon21, JamesTheGreater, BaalRules,****BoxOfTrinkets myjumpingsocks, and of course the newly crowned Empress herself, pigwiz. **

**iCarlyAngst and her partner in crime, aussiemma can do amazing things with lemons these days. And lastly, Whispered love 13, loving her latest update so check it out! **


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